The Minnesota Fringe Festival returns this weekend, transforming stages across Minneapolis into a playground for theater artists pushing the boundaries of performance. 

With more than 80 productions spanning comedy, musicals, drama and experimental theater, we’re highlighting two standout shows worth adding to your itinerary. 

Looking for more weekend plans? Catch emerging Black artists at Rootstock, contribute to an interactive poetry exhibit at Resource and explore a Pan-Asian street food festival inspired by Thailand’s beachside markets. 

The soundtrack of an occupation

One of the most timely shows in this year’s Minnesota Fringe is “Casa Bde Maka Ska,” a satirical reimagining of the 1942 film “Casablanca” through the lens of Operation Metro Surge. 

The original film follows refugees seeking passage out of Morocco, while this new adaptation explores themes of displacement and belonging in Minneapolis. 

“In ‘Casablanca,’ everyone’s trying to escape and get away,” said co-writer Derek “Duck” Washington. “I feel like a lot of the drive here in the Twin Cities is that people don’t want to leave their homes. They want to stay. That’s what makes this area special.” 

The adaptation also pays homage to Prince’s legacy in Minneapolis. Rather than serenading “As Time Goes By,” the show’s piano player performs Prince tracks like “When Doves Cry.” 

“We’re kind of painting the insurgency as a little bit of buffoonery,” Washington said. “Hopefully, it’ll give people a little bit of a laugh while also shining light on some of the issues and some of the awesomeness of the residents of Minnesota.” 

Sketch comics try to make Satan laugh

What happens when a sketch comedy troupe dies and goes to hell? For Maxxeapolis, the answer is simple: convince Satan to let them perform at the Minnesota Fringe. 

In “Maxxeapolis Goes to Hell,” the nine-member comedy collective reimagines the underworld as a waiting room. Comedian Linc Owens plays a self-deprecating and self-referential version of Satan and the troupe must win him over before they can make it back to the stage. 

“We end up in hell because we’re comedians and comedians go to hell,” said group member, writer and performer Eponine Diatta. “We’re trying to appeal to Satan to let us out of hell because we have to perform at the Fringe show. These sketches either irritate or satisfy Satan until we are able to gain our freedom.” 

Rather than stringing together standalone sketches, the nine-member group built a cohesive narrative around exaggerated caricatures of themselves. Co-founder Greg Baker, for instance, plays a hyper-practical manager who treats being damned to hell like an inconvenient corporate retreat. 

Meanwhile, Justin Johnson serves as the show’s musical backbone — whom Diatta compares to Orpheus in the 2006 musical “Hadestown” — singing about how the troupe got trapped and how they might escape. 

“The group’s mission is always to give people a break,” Diatta said. “Comedy is this great gift that we have to be able to remove the stakes from these otherwise serious situations and feel some relief and feel the endorphins of having a good belly laugh.” 

Black music in full bloom

One stage isn’t enough to hold Minnesota’s growing Black arts landscape. On Saturday, Icehouse’s indoor stage and outdoor courtyard will be filled with R&B, soul, hip-hop, rap, jazz, funk, Afrobeats and reggae for the Rootstock Music Festival. 

Catch courtyard sets from Poetic Roots, Gr3g the Poet, Mayyadaa, Jackson Hurst, and Jandeltha Rae, then head inside for performances by Juice Lord, Essjay the Afrocentric Ratchet, Lewiee Blaze, Maya Marchelle and more. 

A collective web of memory

“Counteralgorithmic Poetics,” an interactive poetry exhibit, is opening for one weekend only. Step inside the installation at Resource, receive a prompt and share a memory. As you write, you’ll encounter words left behind by previous participants to weave into your own response. Instead of scrolling through a feed shaped by an algorithm, visitors can build something together. 

Minneapolis-based artist Dana Chiueh draws on her background in AI engineering to explore the boundaries between human connection and automated systems. 

A Pan-Asian feast

New this year, the Asian Street Food Night Market is introducing a dining area inspired by the tropical, beachside coast of Pattaya, Thailand. Explore more than 70 street food vendors, a beer garden, a K-pop dance party, lion dancers, live performances and a car show. 

If you stop by this weekend, be sure to say hello to the Sahan Journal team, who will be tabling on Saturday and Sunday.